Florida Appeals Baseball Ruling

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, January 16, 2002

Florida's attorney general has appealed a federal judge's ruling that blocked his effort to investigate major league baseball's plans to eliminate two teams.

State attorney general Bob Butterworth had issued subpoenas to major league officials, the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays seeking information on whether the Florida clubs are involved in plans to shrink baseball by two teams.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle blocked Butterworth's investigation, saying the inquiry was based on allegations of antitrust violations and that the sport enjoyed a long-standing exemption to antitrust law.

That freed baseball from having to turn over the documents Butterworth was seeking.

Lawyers for Butterworth said then they wouldn't drop the effort and Thursday filed an appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Butterworth also said Thursday that lawyers in his office still were looking into whether the two teams might have to turn over documents on contraction to the state under Florida's deceptive trade practices laws.

He said his lawyers might pursue answers about contraction under the premise that baseball made promises to Florida communities that might not be delivered if the teams move.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said that he wants to eliminate two teams before next season, but that plan appears to have stalled. The teams most frequently mentioned have been Minnesota and Montreal.

State lawyers were watching developments that could affect the Marlins, in particular, including the proposed sale of the team to Jeffrey Loria, the Montreal Expos' current owner, Butterworth said.

"If (it appears) they're not going to contract either one of our two teams, then we're not going to rush" with a deceptive trade practices investigation, Butterworth said.